As is known, loss prevention represents a significant challenge to today's retailer. In order to deter customers from walking off with merchandise, various devices have been developed such as electronic article surveillance devices, generally referred to as a security tags, which are used by retailers to prevent unauthorized removal or theft of consumer products from retail locations, i.e. stores. Generally, each security tag is designed so that it may be easily attached to or inserted into consumer product packaging. Typically, each security tag, using deactivation means, can be easily and efficiently deactivated without offending the customer, delaying check-out lines, or damaging the product. Typically security tags fall under either of two categories, radio-frequency ("RF") deactivated tags or magnetic tags which are deactivated by degaussing.
In such systems, a transmitter operates substantially continuously in the area of a checkpoint at a resonant frequency of a security tag circuit attached to the merchandise. When an article of merchandise bearing a security tag passes through the checkpoint, the tag begins to resonate from the transmitted energy, resulting in actuation of audible and/or visible alarms for example.
However, once a piece of merchandise has been purchased, it is necessary either to remove or deactivate the security tag so that the merchandise can be removed from the store. An example of a suitable device and security tag is presented in U.S. Pat. No. 3,624,631, which teaches a pilferage control system including a passive tuned circuit, which activates an alarm, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference as if being set forth in its entirety herein. To prevent activation of the alarm by tags on purchased merchandise, each passive tuned circuit of that system is provided with a fusible link, which is opened when the circuit is exposed to energy above a predetermined level. Thus, upon legitimate purchase of security tagged merchandise, the tuned circuit is deactivated by exposing the security tag to sufficient electromagnetic energy to destroy the fusible link.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 3,810,147 teaches an alternative electronic security system, which uses multi-frequency resonant tag circuits having distinct frequencies for detection, and for deactivation, the entire disclosure of which is also hereby incorporated by reference herein. Therein, a deactivation frequency is applied to a security tag for the purpose of disarming it by rupturing a fusible link. This destroys the resonant properties of the tag at the detection frequency so that the deactivated security tag produces no alarm when passing through an exit of the store for example.
However, each of these systems and other systems currently in use fail to address additional problems related with the use of security tags. One such problem is known to those in retail as "sweet-hearting". "Sweet-hearting" can be summarized as deactivating a security tag for a device that has not been properly purchased. After this improper deactivation of the security tag, usually by a store employee, (e.g. a checkout clerk), an individual can remove the item from the store without purchasing it or activating the alarm. In this way, the security system has been effectively circumvented.
Another problem associated with the use of security tags results from improper tagging of merchandise. Security tags are typically either attached to merchandise by store employees or inserted into product packaging by a manufacturer at an additional charge to the retailer. Either way, the retailer has in effect paid for each of those products to be tagged with a security tag. Presently, there is no way for a retailer to easily and accurately ascertain whether each of those products which should have been tagged in fact were.
Further, when retail stores are at their busiest, cashiers often do not strictly adhere to deactivation procedures. Consequently, there results an increased number of false alarms, as security tags attached to properly purchased items are not passed over a deactivating unit to deactivate the security tag, thus causing a trip of the alarm system at an exit for example. This results in customer embarrassment and inconvenience, which is of course undesirable. Further, as the number of false alarms increases, the effectiveness of the security tags decreases as employees become desensitized to the alarm. Also, a deactivation device can fail to effectively deactivate a security tag thus further aggravating the situation, as a cashier usually has no way of knowing whether a particular security tag has been effectively deactivated or not.
Further yet, there exist many consumer products which are sensitive to particular deactivation techniques, such as degaussing. One such example is video tapes. If a video tape is exposed to a degaussing field it is well known the tape may be damaged. Accordingly, there is a need to identify these types of items and prevent their damage by the security tag deactivation device.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to resolve these shortcomings of the prior art devices and systems, regardless of type, without substantially degrading the efficiency of existing checkout procedures.